Sword of Light: New Era
by Skynica Dryhern
Summary: So... Like, how long does Star Wars last, exactly? In Sword of Light, apparently it has continued 2,000 years after A New Hope. Gee whiz, I started this story so long ago, but not that far away. Lame joke aside, I hope you like it. Please give reviews!
1. Chapter 1

**Jedi Saga: Sword of Light**

**Book 1:**

**Open**

**Two Millennia after **_**A New Hope**_

_**Intro**_

_ Ade-Ja's padawan apprentice, Tibler Kay, looked at his crono. His master was late- again. At least Master Ade-Ja had a good humor about everything. Very few of the other Jedi Masters had any sense of humor whatsoever. Tibler smiled to himself. 'I guess I'm lucky,' he thought._

_ Being fairly young to start apprenticing at age 12, Tibler had a promising future ahead of him. He had the greatest Master any youngling could ever hope for, he had a multitude of friends, and he was very strong in the force- or so he was told. Truth be told, he was still learning, and had a long way to go._

_ After looking at his crono again, Tibler decided to sit on one of the benches on the landing platform. His master had been out on a 'very dangerous mission- too dangerous for any padawan to go on.' And you know what? Nothing had happened. Now Tibler was just waiting for master Ade-Ja to return._

_ Several times he thought that his master's shuttle was this one or that one, but he was always wrong. Then, for once, Tibler decided to practice using the force. He expanded his 'sphere of awareness,' as he called it and tried to pick out what ship his master was on._

_ That's when something very interesting caught his attention. _

_ Hurtling at an incredibly fast speed towards the landing platform was an object- an escape pod of some sorts._

_ Tibler's green eyes snapped wide open when he realized that there was something alive inside the pod. The pod wasn't slowing down. Faster than you could blink, he had his comlink out and was already telling someone at the newly re-finished control tower about what was happening._

_ "Ok, I am on it," said the droid on the other end. Almost immediately, two small ships were dispatched from the tower to escort the pod to safety. Of course, it just had to be at the landing platform Tibler was at._

_ Within moments of the ship hitting the platform, armed guards were bustling around, trying to shoo Tibler and everyone else on the platform away. Tibler stayed, knowing he had authority over these guards. He was also very interested about what could be inside of that escape pod. Before he had any time to do anything else, two guards started to cut away at the door of the pod. Tibler watched them work, making up stories about what the being inside the pod would be like. Maybe he was an escaped convict on his way to the spice mines of Kessel. Or maybe it was some small-world dignitary whose ship had been attacked by pirates and had only just escaped being captured and sold as a slave._

_ But no- It wasn't either of those._

_ The guards had finished cutting through the door, and one was cautiously peering inside. Remarkably fast, he ran inside and came back out with something in his arms. He laid it down on the ground and shouted to another guard to call the nearest med station._

_ Tibler stood on his toes to peer over the soldier's shoulders. He really wanted to know what in the Skywalker's name was going on. And then he saw what it was._

_ She was a human girl, probably not much older than Tibler himself. She had plain brown hair, and save for the gash on her forehead, seemed to be in fairly good health. Her clothing was simple- a pair of pants and a grey tunic. They seemed to be a little bit on the dirty side, though. Perhaps she had been in the escape pod for a while. On that note, she did seem rather underweight and pale now that Tibler was getting a better look at her. _

_ People in the crowd around him were muttering about the 'poor thing,' and 'little child,' and about how scared she would be when she woke up in a strange place. Well, maybe it's not a strange place said another. Perhaps she's been to Coruscant before. Maybe. I guess we'll know when she wakes up._

_ By now, a small speeder had arrived and was loading the girl into the back to transport her to the med center. Tibler really wanted to follow it, but he knew that although he had the best Master in the galaxy, that didn't mean he wouldn't be punished for being somewhere that he shouldn't be. So, rather upset at himself, Tibler opted to return to the new Jedi temple- the one that was over a thousand millennia old but still considered new because it was newer than the old Jedi temple which was much older than that (three or four millennia?). Anyway, he went home and told all of his friends about his adventure at the landing platform._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I had a strange sensation of floating- free, as light as a feather. No more pain or sorrow anywhere. Just me, with no one to bother me…

I tried to open my eyes against the harsh light of- well, something luminous. But it only made my head start pounding even worse than it already was. Finally, after some period of time, I fully opened my eyes and took a look around. I was in a bare room with only one window to look out of. The scene outside was pleasant, but I had to figure out what was going on.

I started to sit up, but once again my head started pounding. I waited a bit and then tried again- only succeeding in making myself nearly cry out in pain. I gingerly reached up to touch my forehead. I winced as I felt the stitching that was keeping my brains in. Well, not necessarily my brains, but you get the picture.

I sighed and laid my head against the soft pillow. Not necessarily very fluffy, but I felt rather sick to my stomach. I had just remembered something.

Nothing. Even as I tried to concentrate, I couldn't for the life of me remember anything. Heck, not even my name! I was becoming rather frantic at this point. You know the routine- Ohmygosh Ohmygosh Ohmygosh what in the universe is going on?

That's when I started to jabber away. I just started to say the first things that popped into my head.

Seconds later, a door I had not noticed before opened and four beings walked in. Two I could easily tell were droids, and the other two were humans. One of the droids came to my side and revealed a needle that it soon stuck into my arm. I immediately felt rather woozy, and I stopped talking. The other droid, meanwhile, had started talking to the two humans. They were saying words I couldn't understand- maybe they were talking in basic or something.

A language I did not know a word of.

I passed out.

When I started to wake up again, I realized that the two droids and the two humans were still in the room. I turned my head slightly to look out the window. Probably not even a few minutes had gone by. I tried to sit up again, but the taller human shook his head- the universal sign for no.

He asked me something in basic. I made no reply, considering I had no idea what he had just asked me. The non-medical droid looked at me and then asked me in a funny accent who I was in my own tongue. I laughed at its accent, but replied that I honestly couldn't remember. The droid indignantly replied that I had a strange dialect, but told the human what I had said.

Next the human told the droid to ask me where I was from. And I told the droid again, that I couldn't remember. The human asked if I remembered anything, and I responded no. The human said something that the droid did not translate, and when I asked the droid what he had said, he said that I didn't want to know.

This time, the younger human spoke up and the droid translated that he thought I was cute. I felt my cheeks become bright red as I looked into his piercing emerald eyes. I told him truthfully that I thought he was also kind of cute, but there are much better looking guys out there than you.

Poor kid just gawked at me. The older one laughed and told the boy something else that the droid didn't translate. This time the excuse for no translation was that it could hurt my feelings.

I told the droid that at this point I didn't especially care, and that I just wanted to know what was going on. The older human told me what had happened.

Apparently, I had crashed on a landing platform and been immediately taken to this med-center, where I had awakened now, the next day. He also said that I would have woken up sooner if they (they as in the team at the med center) could have used bacta. But they couldn't because I apparently had an allergic reaction to it. Well, that's just great.

The man's next question sort of surprised me. Speaking through the droid still, he asked me if I had ever heard of a Jedi. I told him I had, but didn't necessarily know a whole lot about them. The man explained further that both he and his apprentice were Jedi, defenders of peace in the galaxy.

"Well, that's nice for you," I said in my own tongue, "But what does that have to do with me?"

After the droid translated what I said, the boy and his master looked at each other, unsure how to proceed. The master finally replied through the droid that the medical team had tested my midi-chlorian count, and found it to be higher than normal. In fact, he continued, much higher.

"And that means…?" I asked.

The man sighed and sat down in a chair close to my bed. "It means," he said through the droid, "That you are a Force-sensitive being, able to use the Force,"

"And the Force is what?" I asked. I felt rather stupid, asking all these questions and probably pissing both the man and his apprentice off, but at least I was getting some answers (Albeit not the exact answers I was looking for).

The man sighed deeply, obviously calming himself from the would-be outburst, and then told me that the Force is what the Jedi use to do all of the amazing things Jedi do- such as wield a lightsaber without hurting themselves, lift things, set things down, and the like.

"And before you ask what the Force is," the man said, holding up a hand when I opened my mouth to speak, "Let me tell you. It is a living field that surrounds every living thing in the universe. Some say we Jedi control it, we prefer to think of it as controlling us,"

I asked him how he knew that was what I was going to ask. He responded that he knew through the Force. I would have responded with some choice words, but that would probably be disrespectful to the Jedi.

He continued that once the Jedi Council had decided, I would (or possibly would not) be allowed to become a Jedi. "But first," He said through the droid, "You will need to find a master and be his or her apprentice before you become a Knight."

"Or your master will find you," said the boy. "That's what happened with me and Master Ade-Ja."

"Oh, so that's your name?" I asked through the droid. The older Jedi nodded. I then asked for the apprentice's name, and found it to be Tibler Kay.

"Do I have a name?" I asked through the droid. "I mean, have you chosen a name for me? Or have you just been calling me 'That girl' or something?"

Tibler burst out laughing, fell to the floor and started rolling around. I tried to get up to see what was the matter, but master Ade-Ja put up his hand to stop me. Through the droid he told me that they actually had been calling me 'that girl'.

"It's rather impersonal, don't you think?" I asked through the droid after Tibler's giggle fit was done. "I would prefer that I had a proper name,"

"Considering you don't remember your name," master Ade-Ja said (still through the droid) "You could probably just pick one out for yourself, if you'd like,"

"I couldn't possibly name myself," I said. "I would think it to be better if you decided on a name for me,"

So, after about five minutes of deliberation, they set upon a decent name for me- Ginger Rixla.

So, I woke up a nameless urchin in a med center, and I fell asleep that night Ginger Rixla, Jedi hopeful, and filled with the hope of tomorrow.

The next day, Master Ade-Ja came and visited me without Tibler. Ade-Ja also had the droid with him again, and he said that in order for me to be my best, it would be for the best if I learned Basic. When I asked where Tibler was, he said that if I could ask it to him is Basic, he'd tell me. I had been listening to how the droid had responded in basic, so I just repeated what it had said. Ade-Ja laughed a little bit, and true to his word, he told me where Tibler was- training with the other apprentices at the Jedi Temple. I would have asked what the Jedi Temple was, but I used context clues to figure it out.

"I am going to leave K-2M8 with you to get you started," Ade-Ja said. "I'll be back in two hours to pick him up, and hopefully with good news,"

"Like what good news?" I asked.

"The council is going to announce their decision," He said over his shoulder as he exited. When the door closed, I looked over at the chrome-plated protocol droid.

"First, I will teach you how to greet someone," K-2M8 said.

By the end of two hours, I had absorbed enough Basic to get me through a day in a decent sized town- how to greet someone, hold a small conversation, how to ask where something is, and how to get food and drink. Ade-Ja was quite impressed, as was Tibler. They joked a little bit and said that I should have been called the 'sponge'.

"Well, now you can hold a decent conversation with someone," Tibler said. "So, other than your 'fantastic day with K-2M8', how are you?"

"Not bad," I replied in broken Basic. "I am still a little bit tired, but I fell that I need to get out of this med center and get some sunlight."

"But before we go out," said Master Ade-Ja. "The results are in,"

I waited expectantly. Tibler could barely contain himself. Finally he blurted out, "You're in!"

I nearly squealed in excitement, but I managed to contain it. "That is great!" I said. "Now I really want to get out there and show my joy."

"That would probably be ok, just let me go ask," Master Ade-Ja said. He was out of the room for a few seconds, but then he came back in, saying he had permission from the staff of the Med Center to take me for a walk. "Just as long as I bring you back," He said, smiling wryly. I laughed a little bit, and said that yes, I probably was still too weak to begin Jedi training.

"Yeah, but hold on just a second, Ginger," Tibler said. "We need to get you some clothes- like a Jedi robe or something,"

They agreed to head back to the temple together and get me some clothes, so while I waited K-2M8 stayed with me and tried to coax me into doing some more Basic lessons. I learned some 'adjectives- to spice up your speech' and some more descriptive words. When Master Ade-Ja and Tibler returned, K-2M8 said that next time, we'd work on tenses.

Master Ade-Ja tossed the clothes at the foot of the bed, and then instructed everyone to leave the room so I could change. So, without any detail whatsoever, I changed and came out of the room.

"You look nice," Tibler Kay said.

"Thank you," was all I could say. Tibler offered me his arm, so out of courtesy, I took it and the three of us walked outside into the beautiful sunlight.

We rented a speeder and the two Jedi showed me around the sprawling metropolis planet of Coruscant. It was absolutely gorgeous. Tibler pointed out several places of interest, such as the Senate building.

"Yeah, last year some other learners went there and rigged up all of the senator's seats," Tibler said. He smiled as he continued. "You should have seen it! As one, all of the seats rose up out of their places and started spinning!"

Another place of interest was the performance house. "There are daily performances from beings around the galaxy- There's the Mon Calamari Aqua Ballet, some operas, and- my personal favorite- re-enactments of history."

"What kinds of histories?" I asked.

"Oh, all kinds," Master Ade-Ja replied. "From the old Jedi holocrons, playwrights have come up with the beautiful tragedies of Darth Vader, which happen to be my favorite."

"Who was that?" I asked.

"Well, I don't want to give away the plot," Master Ade-Ja said, "But I'll tell you this much- it is based mostly on fact from the ancient Jedi Anakin Skywalker."

"And what happened to him?" I asked.

Master Ade-Ja laughed lightly. "You know what? I'm going to check and see when the next performance is. When ever it is, I'll take you if you'd like,"

"You would do that for me?"

"Of course- no shame in learning some Jedi history, am I right?"

I nodded and sat back, watching the city flash by.

"Oh, Ginger, look!" Tibler said, pointing dead ahead. "That's the Jedi Temple!"

I looked on in awe. It was a huge building- not as big as some of the others, but still enormous. It had five pillars that shot strait into the sky, and each was topped with a large circular room.

"It's had some renovations since it was re-opened as the main center for Jedi learning and curriculum, but according to records, it still looks almost the same after all this time," Master Ade-Ja explained.

"Are we going there right now?" I asked.

"No, not this time," Master Ade-Ja said. "I think it would be better for you if we brought you somewhere else to get some fresh air."

Master Ade-Ja turned the speeder around and headed in a different direction. I watched through the back window the receding Jedi Temple.

"So, where exactly are we going?" I asked.

"Oh, Master!" Tibler exclaimed. "We should bring her to New Glory Park! She'd love it there!"

"I think you want to go there for your own selfish reasons Master Ade-Ja said. He turned around in his seat and laughed at Tibler's expression. "Oh, all right," he said. He veered sharply to the right and took a near vertical plunge several hundred meters, then leveled out again. I was gripping the arm-rests so tightly, I left small indentions in them.

"I hate it when he flies," Tibler mumbled to himself. "Such a hot-shot,"

"Hey, I heard that," Master Ade-Ja said. He smiled a little bit and then parked the speeder next to the ped-walk. Tibler hopped out and helped me out of the speeder while Master Ade-Ja locked up. He scanned the surrounding area for a few seconds, and then lead us to the park. Well, Tibler actually did more leading, dragging me through the throng of people and other inter-planetary beings.

I gasped when I first saw the garden- It's beauty took my breath away. There were many walk-ways, hedges, and in the center of it all was a huge fountain that erupted every now and then with a shower of illuminated water. Tibler showed me his favorite places in the park. He turned around to me and smiled.

I sensed something was dreadfully wrong.

I instinctively threw my hands over my head when the first explosive went off. Master Ade-Ja and Tibler, within seconds, had pulled out their lightsabers. Oh, the beauty of those swords! Tibler's was a subdued green, while Master Ade-Ja's was a brilliant blue, almost indigo. Both were looking around for the source of the explosion.

Another one went off, only a few meters to our right. The shock wave threw all of us to the ground. I felt the ground rumbling as more explosions rocked the park. Through the smoke, I saw something. I tried to stand up, but tripped over my own feet. I looked up at the menacing being that towered over me. In his hands, he held an electro staff. He raised it up and jabbed it into my chest.

Lights out.

**(Author's note- If poor Ginger is knocked out like this every chapter, there won't be a story. PLEASE don't flame me, PLEASE don't judge me, but constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. (Well, along with the ever-needed praise XD))**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Pain exploded in my chest when I woke up again. I could faintly feel the rumbling of engines through the grimy floor. I called out in my own language if anyone was there. At first there was no reply, and then there was movement to my right. I turned quickly to see an extremely tall young man sit up and look at me. He had olive-colored skin, but very light hair. His eyes were large and grey. He gave me a sad smile, flashing his white teeth.

"I am Effendi," he said, sticking out his hand. I shook it and introduced myself as Ginger Rixla. Effendi nodded. "Yes, Tibler told me about you," he said.

"Does that mean you are a Jedi?" I asked.

He nodded. "Still a learner, but a Jedi all the same,"

"Do you know what happened?"

Effendi's face darkened a little bit, but he replied, "One moment, I was walking with Master Laris a few blocks from the temple, and then there was an explosion, and after that there was nothing,"

"Master Ade-Ja, Tibler, and I were in New Glory Park," I said. After a moment's pause, I asked "Do you think this could have been a planned attack?"

Effendi shrugged. "It may have been,"

After that, we were silent for a while. Then I asked "Do you know where we are?"

"I don't have the slightest clue," Effendi said. "We may be on Coruscant still, or we could be beyond the outer rim…"

At this point, the vehicle we were in came to an abrupt stop, throwing me onto Effendi. Effendi was, in turn, thrown onto someone else who in the meantime, had been unconscious.

"Tibler!" I cried. I crawled over to him and gave him a big hug. "I'm afraid,"

"There is nothing to fear," he whispered gently. Even though he said that, though, I saw straight through his bravado. He was probably just as scared as I was.

The back doors of the vehicle were opened wide. Several ancient-looking droids were shuffling around at an extremely slow pace. Most were moving boxes. A slightly newer looking droid with something in its grasp gestured to get out. Tibler's eyes widened when he saw it, and he mouthed one word to me- _'blaster'._

I had no idea what he meant by this, but I followed the droid's orders and got out of the speeder we had been in. We were walked into a narrow corridor that soon branched off in two directions. Another droid grabbed my arm and tried to drag me away from Tibler and Effendi. I screamed and kicked the droid's metal leg, causing it to lose its balance and crash to the ground. I got a hold of Tibler's hand. He yelled at me in basic something I didn't understand at first, but then I understood it as something like "Go, or else you'll get us killed!"

The second droid's iron grip held my shoulder as it walked me down the hallway, away from two of the only people I knew. I felt as if I could burst, but I held it in. the sounds coming from other rooms scared me. After several minutes of walking, we took a sharp turn to a dead end.

Or so I thought.

A door opened up at the end of the hallway, and suddenly I was inside. I whirled around as the door closed behind me. I punched it as hard as I could, making a good-seized dent. I let my hand fall to my side, not knowing what to do.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. I nearly punched who ever it was in the face, but I kept my cool and turned around.

It was a girl, no older than I was or maybe a little older. She had parchment-white skin and almost the same colored hair. Her eyes were crystal clear blue, and filled with fear. No different than I felt. She asked me something in Basic that I didn't understand, save for my name. I guessed that she had asked if I was Ginger, so I nodded. The other girl smiled kindly and introduced herself.

"I am Amii Ross," she said. "I over-heard Tibler talking about you once,"

"It seems that he likes to talk about me a lot," I said. Amii's face gained a pained expression.

"He can't help it," she said. "It is in his nature to tell and speak. His father was a senator as was his mother, and he was raised being told to tell everything,"

We stood in awkward silence for several seconds before another girl- definitely older than me- cleared her throat. "Do you have any idea what is happening out there?" she said.

I shrugged, one because I didn't, and two I didn't exactly know how to respond in Basic. I told them in my own language that Effendi thought it may have been a planned attack. None of the other three girls in the room understood a word that I said. Instead, they proceeded to introduce themselves.

"Jhordan Par'rak," said the girl who had spoken most recently. She wasn't extremely tall, but she was pencil-thin. She had thick, close-cropped black hair that curled around her face, and a small mole on her upper lip. Her black eyes looked like they hadn't seen sleep in several days (or maybe she always looked like that?)

"And I'm Kariia. Kariia Whitcht," said the final girl. She too was probably about a year older than me, but where Jhordan was short and thin, Kariia was tall and very muscular. Her long reddish-brown hair was tied back in a thick rope braid, and her hazel eyes sparkled with life. No, more than life. There was a certain air to her that made her seem... different, I guess you could say.

I introduced myself properly, and Kariia promptly had me sit down in a circle with the rest of them. I opened my mouth to ask what they were doing, but I was silenced by a sharp look from Jhordan. Amii leaned over and said to copy what they were doing. I tried my best, and failed miserably. Mostly because I had no idea what they were doing. I would learn later that they were using the Force to check out their surroundings. Considering I had no training in the Force whatsoever, I couldn't participate in the exercise.

Amii's eyes opened wide. "Some one is coming," she said. Immediately, the door opened and another girl of our age was shoved in. She looked at us and sat down in a huff. She was shorter than Kariia, but taller than Jhordan. She had blonde hair that was short like Jhordan's, and her eyes were a near purple-blue hue. They brightened when she recognized her friends.

"Hey Kariia, you too?" she asked. A wry smile crossed her lips for an instant, then returned to neutral when she spotted me. "Who are you?" she asked.

Jhordan took the liberty of introducing me. The new girl then introduced herself. "I'm Nova Hyche," she said. She joined our small circle, and we were silent for a while, keeping to our own thoughts. I personally was wondering if five was the limit per room.

"Well, I suppose this is home sweet home- at least for a little while," Amii said finally, breaking the silence.

"Of course you would say that," Jhordan said bitterly. "Always peppy."

"It's good to keep a little bit of comedy going at a time like this," Kariia said. I could already tell that she and Jhordan didn't get along that well. They were obviously exact opposites.

"Please," Nova said. "We need to figure out how to contact some one. Any one, really,"

"Do we even know where we are?" I asked.

"Oh, we're still on Coruscant, for sure," Ami said. We all turned and looked at her. Her frail form seemed to shudder a little bit before she continued. "Back on Dantooine, I always felt so... alone, I guess you could say. There were no other Jedi. But when Darach Ulio brought me here to Coruscant, I could- and still can- fell the other Jedi. Like, a net or something..."

"I've never known what it's like to be _without_ other Force-sensitives," Kariia said. She smiled, obviously remembering something. "Yeah, back on Dathomir, just about all of us could use the Force. I had always wanted to become a Jedi, and look at me now- I just got a Master who is amazing, and I have friends galore!"

"Yeah, but for now we're stuck here," Jhordan said. She was definitely going to do anything to bring down our moods in any situation.

After that, we all separated into our own places- Kariia and Nova sat at a table discussing something complicated (in basic- I hardly understood any of it), Amii and I sat together with our backs against the wall, and Jhordan kept to herself in the far corner.

"What is up with Jhordan?" I asked Amii quietly. "You seem to know a lot about every one else, so I figured I'd ask you,"

Amii looked over to Jhordan, then back at me. "Jhordan is a... Complicated being..." she said. "All I know is that she holds a bitter grudge against Kariia for some reason that I do not know. I try not to get involved in other's affairs, but I usually end up knowing weather I like it or not."

After that, the only sound in the room was Kariia and Nova's soft talking. I soon fell asleep...

_ I was dreaming._

_ "We need to extract you from this place,"_

_ "But they need me here," I said. I looked back at my friends. No, these weren't my friends. They were all strange faces. They were all coming towards me. One long hand slipped around my throat and started squeezing, squeezing... _

_ I looked at him and asked him why. His green eyes shone brightly, like emeralds, but he made no reply. Some one was laughing..._

I awoke, gasping for breath. I sub-consciously put my hand up to my throat, but there was nothing. No hand, no green eyes filled with hatred...

"It was just a dream," I told myself many times in my own tongue. "Just a dream,"

But now I was awake, and I knew that falling asleep was not going to be easy. So, I sat up the rest of the night, thinking what ever passed through my head. I surprised myself several times by thinking in Basic instead of my other language. I smiled a little bit. I was on the road to becoming exactly what I wanted.

But destiny always has other ideas.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

We were fed twice a day- once in the morning, and again in the late afternoon. The meals weren't horrible, but there wasn't a lot. The other girls didn't eat much anyway, so they usually gave me a little bit more. I felt bad about this, but Amii told me not to worry about it.

Every chance they got, they would teach me more Basic and about the Force. Every day, I learned. And to keep our fitness up, Kariia flipped the beds up on their ends and we would do pull ups.

"I got it from a holo-vid I once saw," she said. "It was a stupid movie, but I'd watch it again for the action,"

So, every day was a routine. We'd get up, have our breakfast, and then they'd teach me. Lunch, then back to training. Then we would go to sleep, dreaming of freedom.

And so it was, for several days...

Finally, we felt something in the Force. Some one was coming. We all stood up when the door opened. A young man with a small beard was there, lightsaber in hand, gesturing with the other.

"Come on! We're busting all of you out!" he said. He then ran to the next room and opened the door, releasing the next group of padawans.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" I asked. "Let's go!"

We all scrambled out the door and joined the mob of freed padawans. I found myself jostled to the front with our rescuer.

"So, who are you?" I asked as we simultaneously opened doors.

"Aslan Harcon," he replied, sprinting down the hallway. "And based on Master Ade-Ja's description, I'm going to guess you're Ginger Rixla,"

"Right you are," I said, opening another door. When I got a glimpse inside, my heart swelled with happiness.

"Tibler!" I said, running in and giving him a hug. "Let's get out of here!"

"No kidding!" he said, laughing a little bit. We ran out together, out into the beautiful sunlight.

I heard a new sound- and it wasn't a pleasant one, either. I turned to see some droids with those 'blasters', as Tibler called them. Colored light beams were coming out, like mini lightsabers. I ducked involuntarily as one came towards me. I started running again, into the large speeder that Aslan was already starting up. I looked around at the other Padawans, already on board. Most were quite a bit younger than I was, and some were crying. The older apprentices were starting to get onboard, some immediately went to the younger students and tried to comfort them. I went to the nearest, a human girl with subdued red hair. When I sat next to her, she looked up briefly, then hugged me and cried into my shoulder.

I was not expecting that kind of reaction, and I didn't know how to respond. So, for pretty much the entire ride, we sat like that; the younger girl crying while I sat there. As we got closer to the Temple though, she settled down and was able to look me in the eyes.

"T-thank you..." she said. Her voice was young and innocent, and her big blue eyes looked truly grateful.

"You are welcome," was all I could say.

"What's your name?" she asked shyly.

Starting to get a little bit tired of the introductions, I told her my name, and she told me hers: Marley Shilite. "I like your voice," she said. "It doesn't sound boring like every one else's. It's kind of special,"

I didn't know how to respond to that, so I just smiled and looked out the window. Marley followed my gaze and pointed excitedly.

"The Temple! The Temple! That's the Temple!" she said. It was true- the Jedi Temple was out there, and we were approaching quickly.

"Strap in, kids," Aslan called out from the front. "It might be a rough landing!"

We all immediately heeded his words and 'strapped in', as he called it. The over-seized speeder bounced once, and then skidded to a halt. Every living being breathed out as one, then cheered Aslan on his amazing skill. He stood up, looking a little pale, then directed every one to exit the speeder bus from the front to the back. The entire speeder was emptied in a matter of seconds.

Several older-looking Jedi were watching Aslan with utter contempt. I wondered why- he had just saved all of us, hadn't he?

One of the oldest looking masters spoke first- "Aslan Harcon, met me in my office immediately,"

"Then with the rest of the council when you are done," said another. Aslan just about deflated with an emotion I couldn't define. As the older Jedi walked away, I approached Aslan Harcon. I kneeled next to him and asked him what was the matter. He looked at me and replied.

"The council specifically told me not to go. They said wait until they devised a plan. I couldn't wait though," he said. He looked at me with forlorn eyes. "My younger cousin was captured, and she's all I have left of a family. I had to rescue her, along with every other Padawan there."

We both stood up, and we entered the Temple. Aslan Harcon was silent. He looked as pale as- if not paler- than Amii. I decided that it would be best if I didn't try and give him any false comfort.

Aslan made a sudden sharp turn to the right, and I followed him down a narrow corridor. It occurred to me that I had no idea where I was supposed to be going, but I held my tongue. Aslan turned to me and said, "Stay here until I get back,"

He hurried down the hall, made another right turn, and was gone. I sat down with my back against the wall. It occurred to me that I was rather hungry and shaking a little bit. I willed myself to put aside my anxiety and try to calm down. Why did I even need to be anxious? Nothing was the matter.

Time escaped me at that point. I have no idea how long I was sitting in that position before Aslan Harcon came back. He looked even worse than before.

"How are you?" I asked. I didn't know the words for 'are you ok?', but Aslan didn't seem to notice. He turned and didn't even try a fake smile.

"Grand Master Barbaros Klaegei would like to see you now," was all he said. Then he walked away. I called out after him- I didn't know where this guy was! Unfortunately, Aslan continued walking- or really, shuffling his feet. It was as if he was trying to go as slowly as possible. Then again, he probably was.

I sighed to myself and went in the direction Aslan had come from. I assumed that the Jedi Aslan had mentioned was the one he had just talked to. I turned at the same place, and luckily for me, there was only one door at the end of the hall. I took a deep breath, then quietly knocked on the door.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Come in," said the Jedi Master. I opened the door and walked in.

The first thing that I noticed was that it was a very sparsely decorated room. The next was the large desk, accompanied by three chairs (two close to me, and the other on the other side of the desk). The one chair that was farther away was occupied by (I presume) Barbaros Klaegei.

"Please, take a seat," he said. I scurried and sat in the chair as quickly as I could. I felt a little bit nervous. Aslan Harcon had seemed really nervous- and if _that _guy was nervous, then I probably have every reason to be.

"I sense a great deal of anxiety in you, Ginger Rixla," He said calmly. "There is no need for that here. You have nothing to fear from anyone here,"

That made me feel a little bit better. But not a whole lot. "Why have you called me?" I asked.

"Several reasons," he said. He rose from his desk and strode to the far corner of the room. "First, you _are _a new student and I haven't had the chance to meet you yet or welcome you to the Order,"

I didn't know how to phrase my next sentence in Basic, so I just spoke in my native tongue. I asked him what else he needed me for. His initial reaction was amusement, but then he grew serious again.

"I assume you asked me what else you are here for, and your language is one of them," he said. He walked to the other corner of the room, watching me squirm the entire time. "You will find it exceedingly difficult to learn and communicate with other students here if you do not understand basic very well, especially since you have a unique language,"

"What do you call my language?" I asked, partially in basic and partially in my own language.

"Xeghwa," he said. He must have sensed that I wanted to know more, so he continued. "It is thought to be a dead language, used by ancient civilizations thousands of years ago,"

I understood about a quarter of what he had said.

Finally returning to his seat he leaned in close. "This evening, you will be placed with a group of padawans called the Vagabond group. Their ages vary from about 10 to 15 standard years of age. You will begin your training with them. After the council has deemed you worthy, a Jedi Master will choose to take you on as an apprentice. You will no longer be an active part of your group, but you will still be affiliated with it,"

After he said that, he leaned back in his chair. "That pretty much covers it. Do you have any other questions?"

"Where do I go?" I asked. Master Klaegei looked up at me, astonished.

"Wh-wh... Oh, yes," he said. He dampened his surprise, then continued. "From my office, you should probably head to the cafeteria. It shouldn't be that hard- just follow everyone else. Anything else?"

I thought for a moment, then asked my final question. "What about Aslan Harcon?"

Master Klaegei's face hardened. "You mean what will happen to him? Well, if he's lucky, he'll be spending a long time doing community service and rigorous training. It is all up to the council,"

"And if he is not?"

"Not lucky, you mean? Well, he will be expelled from the Jedi Order, and most likely sent to a different planet to live out his life wishing he hadn't done what he did,"

I sat with my lips pursed. I had understood the gist of what Master Klaegei had said- they could send Aslan away. I really didn't like that idea at all.

"Well, I'd say that you are done here," he said, awakening me from my thoughts. "Go ahead and ask around for the Vagabond group in the cafeteria and get yourself a good meal. Oh, and Ginger," he said. I turned from the door. Barbaros Klaegei was smiling a little bit. "May the Force be with you,"

I returned the phrase and closed the door.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I did exactly as the Jedi Master had told me- I followed two other apprentices (neither of whom I knew) to the cafeteria. There was really no need to do this. I could have just followed my nose.

The cafeteria- if it could even be called that- was an absolutely huge room. At one end, opposite from where I had come in, there was a hole in the mid-section of the wall where a wide selection of aliens and humans were passing out food to an equally varied and diverse number of Jedi and learners. The food was even more so- I don't think that there is a place in the galaxy of more color and flavor and smells than the Jedi Temple's kitchen.

Between the serving counter and the door I had just come in through, there were many seats. Most of these were filled with other Jedi, but here and there were some empty seats.

"Hi Ginger!" said a small voice from behind me. I jumped at the sound of my name, but then turned to see Marley.

"Good evening, Marley," I said.

"Oh, you're new! I'll show you what to do, Ginger!" she said. Marley grabbed ahold of my hand and dragged me across the room to where a line had formed. "Ok, so now we'll wait our turn to get our food. It usually doesn't take very long, so you won't be very hungry for much longer,"

It wasn't until then that I noticed just how hungry I actually was. "How did you know?" I asked. "Wait, did you use the Force?"

"No," she responded. "I just heard your stomach growl,"

I laughed a little bit as Marley continued. "Anyway, I suggest you stay away from the mukru nuts- they don't taste very good. And don't eat anything that says 'not for human consumption'. I tried some of it before and ended up in the infirmary for a week,"

I didn't understand what she meant by 'infirmary' (remember, my vocabulary is limited), but from the tone of her voice, it sounded like a place best avoided.

"My favorite is the shuay fruit, though," she said. "It's really good and creamy-ish. In fact, my cousin likes it when it's dipped in falek sauce as a dessert!"

"Oh, so you have a cousin, too?" I asked. "Who is the cousin? Aslan Harcon said that he had one too,"

"What do you mean, 'who is _the_ cousin'?" Marley asked. "A cousin is your parent's sibling's children. And Aslan _is _my cousin,"

"Oh," was all I could say. There I go again with my limited vocabulary.

Wanting to get away from Marley (who was starting to remind me of a leech), I told her that I was going to go sit with my friends.

"Oh, ok," Marley said. "Well, I'll go sit with my friends after we get food. Bye!"

I nearly sighed with relief once Marley had filled her tray with food and skipped off. I looked down at the food and picked up several edible-looking items that also smelled equally delicious. I turned to face the rest of the dining area, spotted a familiar face, then moved in.

"Hello Amii," I said. I set my tray down and slid into the seat. Amii looked up, perhaps startled.

"Oh, good afternoon," she said. She looked back down at her bowl. "I am not as hungry as I thought I was, and I don't know why. Maybe it is because I'm simply used to eating less now,"

"Um, ok," I said as she lifted up her glass to drink. 'So, what do you know about the Vagabond group?"

Amii's drink burst into a million particles as she sputtered it out. "V-vagabond?" she asked. "Master Klaegei put you into the Vagabond group?"

"Yes," I said. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No," she said. A faint smile touched her lips as she continued. "No, that's actually very good," She wiped her spilled drink up with a napkin, then stood up. "I can introduce you, if you'd like,"

"That's kind of you," I said, "But I am hungry, and I would like to eat,"

"Of course, of course! How silly of me!" she said. She sat back down and started eating hastily. "Eat up quickly now- oh how exciting to introduce you to everyone else,"

I did as I was instructed and quickly ate the meat steak I had chosen for my meal as Amii gulped down her soup. Wiping her mouth with the sleeve of her robe, she used her other arm to gather up her utensils and tray. "Come on!" she said as she started walking away. I had barely taken two bites out of my meal, but I also gathered up my tray and followed Amii to several large bins. She scraped what was left of her food into one bin and her tray into another.

I thought it would be a waste to throw away the steak, so I asked Amii what to do.

"Nothing goes to waste," she said. "All of this left-over food is shipped off to one of the artificial satellites where it is fed to the animals up there. It is turned to compost which is sent all around the galaxy and sold as fertilizer,"

The only thing I understood from all of that was that the food was not being wasted. I tossed the steak into one bin and the tray into another. Then I followed Amii away from the dining hall.

Down the corridor and around several corners she led me, until we reached a long hallway with many doors. Amii went down and beat on each door, most of which produced humanoid beings. I recognized some of them- Effendi to name one- and there were several others who I didn't recognize.

"Fellow Vagabonds!" Amii said when everyone had gathered. There were some beings who were obviously not human. There was a boy who had sharp-looking horns on his head and grooves on his face, and a very short girl with large black eyes.

"I would like you to meet Ginger Rixla- the newest member of our group," Amii continued. "Now let me introduce everyone,"

She pointed to the short girl first. "That's Xaxane Chrime,"

"Pleased to meet you," Xaxane said quietly. I realized what she reminded me of- a little mouse. She gave a small bow and a big smile.

Amii then indicated Effendi. "That's Effendi," She said.

"Yes, we have met," he said. Where Xaxane was only to my waist, Effendi had almost a meter on me. Polar opposites- just like Jhordan and Kariia.

Speaking of Jhordan, she and Nova were standing next to Effendi- Jhordan a rather dark presence as usual.

"You remember Jhordan and Nova from, well, that place," Amii continued. Finally she pointed out the other boy. "And that's Newk Trall,"

"Nice to meet you!" He said rather cherrily. In that moment I remembered what species he was- Zabrak. But how did I know that?

Not worrying about it, I smiled and nodded to each of them as Amii continued talking. "Tiber and Kariia used to be a part of this group before they were chosen by masters to be apprentices,"

"Are there any other learners in this group?" I asked.

"Yes," She replied. "There is one other- younger than the rest of us, but a learner all the same,"

"Oh! Is it maybe Marley Shilite?" I asked.

"It is!" said Xaxane. "Marley is like a younger sister for all of us because she is so much younger than the rest of us. She only recently joined our group, you see,"

"And speaking of 'recently joining'," said Nova, "I heard a rumor that there are going to be several more learners coming to the temple in the next couple of weeks,"

"But that's all it is," Jhordan said, "A rumor. I mean, be serious. The chances of ANY of them joining Vagabond are so slim that-"

"Jhordan, that is enough!" Newk said rather loudly. "You need to just, well, stop being you all the time!"

"Newk, I happen to like being myself, thank you very much," She said. With that, she turned and went back to her room, slamming the door when she went.

No one spoke for several seconds, but I finally broke the silence. "Where is my room?"

"What? Oh, yes," Amii said. She led me down the hall a short way and opened the door to a bare room. The other learners followed us there. "This is your room. Sometime, we will ask to go to the market and get some things to make it a little homier,"

"Welcome to your new home, Ginger!" Everyone cheered. I felt my face become red, but I didn't mind. I knew I was going to be safe here. Here I would make friends and meet others who didn't like me. We would train, laugh, and cry together. My family may not consist of a father, mother, sister or brother, but we would still be a family. A crazy, perhaps dysfunctional family, but a family all the same.

I was home.


End file.
